Introduction to underground coal gasification and combustion

The salient features of underground coal gasification (UCG) technology can help to meet the main challenges facing the global energy market in the age of growing consumption and climate change. The history of UCG development is instructive in designing a pathway to successful commercialization of the technology. This book is the first attempt to summarize UCG development results in the last 40. years. It reviews the technical, environmental, regulatory, and commercial challenges of UCG. The studies of underground combustion of coal are related to UCG in many aspects, specifically in testing and monitoring methods, numerical modeling, and interaction with groundwater and rock deformation. This introduction examines conceptual approaches forming the foundation of UCG technology and briefly reviews the contents of specific chapters